This book review blog is the ongoing project of the UGA English Department’s Literature and Crime classes, as taught by Dr. Cynthia Turner Camp. The students read crime novels not on the syllabus (but that still fit the course’s theme) and write spoiler-free reviews. Come find your next crime read with us!
On this blog, you’ll get thoughtful, high-quality book reviews authored by students, as well as occasional book reviews authored by Dr. Camp. You can also follow along on Instagram, at @UGAReadsCrime.
In Spring 2024, its inaugural iteration, the course focused on southern crime fiction, with a particular emphasis on novels that ticked the “southern Gothic” and “hard-boiled” boxes. Our syllabus included short stories from Edgar Allan Poe to Walter Mosely, and novels from William Faulkner to S.A. Cosby. Students read and reviewed crime novels that ranged from YA (by Brendan and Kathy Reichs) to romance (by Mary Kay Andrews), from paranormal (by Grady Hendrix) to gritty procedurals (by Greg Isles), and far beyond.